Oborozuki
by Lanfear - DarkAngel
Summary: A tale woven in silk and memories. Saitou x Tokio
1. A Tale of Silk

**Disclaimer:**  
I do not own Rurouni Kenshin no matter how much I wish. It belongs to its respective owners and I'm only playing with the characters .

**Summary:  
**A tale woven in silk and memories.

**Pairings:**  
Saitou x Tokio

**Author Notes:**  
Story is a prequel to another story I'm writing called "A Wolves Honor and Commitment", so it will only be a few short chapters long. The reason I've decided to write it is to cover Tokio's first meeting of Saitou and her father's death.

Tokio: Age 15  
This is not historically correct.  
(_Chapter 1 Revised slightly_) 

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**Oboruzuki**

Hazy Moon

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_**oborozukiyo ni niru mono zo naki**_

When the hazy moon shin­es dimly, the is nothing that can compare..

-----

**A Tale of Silk **. . .

I miss the tales my grandmother use to tell me when I was little. She grew up surrounded by luxury in a world where the Takagi family held its rightful place. A powerful place in Aizu.

I remember being held in her arms as she pulled out beautiful robes, telling me the tales of imperial court associated with the kimonos. She told me the kimonos were an heirloom passed down through the family as she fingered the precious silk. They were onced owned by her grandmother, my great great great grandmother she said. And were eventually handed down to my mother.

And now it was my turn to own them.

It was saddening for her to be handing them to me. I could see it in her eyes.

She had hoped to be able to present them to my little brothers wife, when he eventually married but the fever that took my mothers life also took his.

I remember trying to refuse them but she silenced me with a sad look.

"They contain the history of the Takagi family, Tokio", she told me sadly, "It seems fitting that you should recieve them. After all the name of the Takagi family ends with you. Your father will never marry again."

And so here I sit clutching the kimonos tightly in my arms in my bedroom. Wishing for the past as my father weaves my future.

------------------

The room in the inn looks dreary to me, though I see little of it beyond the screen I sit behind as my father talks to a marriage broker. I am glad for this small amount of privacy though father was reluctant to indulge me in this silly request.

"You remember to many of your grandmothers stories," he admonishes me. "Times have changed and there is no need for unmarried women to hide their faces when in a room with men."

"But father." I told him, "I will be in the meeting with the marriage broker for some time as you overlook potential suitors. There is no need for them to see something they most probley will not have."

He agreed with me there. Though my presence is not required father is indulgent of me. Such sorrow and pain surrounds us in the middle of war and I know he tries his hardest to hide it from me. That is partially the reason for the rushed proceedings of an arranged marriage for me despite my young age. Father is not getting any younger and his position as an offical of Aizu puts us in danger. He wants me to marry a husband that will able to protect me.

I see that my father has dissmissed another potential suitor for me. I can here the marriage broker getting impatient. Already father hasn't even considered any of the six interviewed so far.

Suddenly shouts drift up from outside. "Shinsengumi! Open up!"

Father and the marriage broker quieten at the shouts and I stiffen as I hear those words, though not out of fear. Afterall father is a major sponcer of them.

Thoughts of Ishinshishi spies and assassins run through my mind though. Could one of them be near by?

I stare fearfully at the shoji when a sudden movement near the open window catches my attention. Turning I see nothing though only the bustle of kyoto below.

Shutting my eyes to calm my fears and imagination. A knock at the door brings me out of my thoughts. And I sit still fearing even to breathe as the shoji is pulled aside fast. Footsteps of many can be heard entering and I start to wonder my father or the marriage broker have not said anything.

I can hear footsteps walking towards me and am not surprised when the screen is pulled away from me. I let out a startled gasp as I stare into the amber eyes of a shinsengumi member before me. Before I can say or protest I find a blade against me throat.

"So what have you found, Saitou?" says a brash man from behind.

The man refered to as Saitou pulls me to my feet and answers the man.

"Just a child", Leaving me to turn and face the room.

I feel the blood leaving my face as I stare in horror at the sight before me. On the ground lies me father and the marriage broken surrounded in a slowly growing puddle of blood. Arrows embedded in their throat and face.

"Father" I manage to choke out before I start to feel faint and give into the darkness engulfing me.

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Another of my attempts of mine to write fanfiction, I'm an anime artist, not a writer ". A short chapter but I felt it ended there well. Hopefully I will actually finish this since I have some time on my hands.


	2. Ricepaper Dreams

**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own Rurouni Kenshin no matter how much I wish. It belongs to its respective owners and I'm only playing with the characters .

**Author Notes:  
**Tokio: Age 15  
Saitou: Age 18  
_Italics - _Indicates thought/internal dialogue

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**Oboruzuki**

Hazy Moon

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_**oborozukiyo ni niru mono zo naki**_

When the hazy moon shin­es dimly, the is nothing that can compare..

-----

**Ricepaper dreams**. . .

I stand in the middle of a plain room.

Reaching forward I slowly ease the shoji (1) apart trying to make sense of where I am. I'm surprised to find myself in another room identical to the previous one.

Running forward I pull the shoji away to reveal yet another room.

_Where am I?_

Five rooms down and still no sign of an exit.

_This is not right..._

I'm starting to feel I am being watched though I see no sign of anybody around me. The fear of this unseen presence stirs me into action and I no longer bother with opening the shoji gently. I dig my fingers into the delicate rice paper and pull them aside as fast I can, running from room to room in a careless need to get away.

My desperation to get away causes me to stumble while trying to glance backwards to locate the presence.

I break through the next shoji tripping over a tatami mat and lie stunned on the ground.

Taking a deep, calming breath I got up and stare down the corridor of the open shoji. The identicle rooms I'd come through stretched before me.

_Is there no way out of here?_

I turn and to open the next shoji when I see red Kanji adorning the rice paper. Somehow I feel compelled to touch it.

The lettering is still damp and my finger is cover in red when I pull back. Curious, I inspect the red ink closer.

'_This is not ink_,'my mind whispers to me.

Horrified I smell the thick liquid -- confirming my suspicion.

_It's blood_

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A cool cloth pressed to my head slowly brings me out of my surreal dreams of blood.

"So you've finally woken up"

I find myself on the second floor of an unknown house in a small room. A window to my left overlooks a small garden and koi pond. To my right is small middle age woman kneeling beside the futon I'm laying on.

"My name is Azumi, child. Sanbantai (2) brought you in."

Azumi leaned forward to help me to sit upright.

I removed the cloth from my head and handed to her, which she returned to a small dish of water. I could feel her eyes on me as I sat there silently.

"My names Tokio Takagi," I whisper to the woman, breaking the silence.

I owed her an answer as she had been caring for me and I felt rude and childish sitting there ignoring her.

"Hmm, I thought so. Atsuhira said you were in the room with Kohachirou Takagi and the other man. And you didn't seem the type to be a pleasure woman with all that finery.."

I only half paid attention to what the woman was saying. I was more preoccupied trying to remember something important about my father. However the comment on clothing jerked me from my thoughts and made me see that I was wearing a plain cotton yukata.

"Do you know where my kimono is, Azumi-dono?"

A little flattery never hurt anyone and I was growing uneasy. I didn't remember anything of yesterday or how I ended up here. I needed to go home to get my bearings.

Azumi looked surprised.

"Just call me Azumi, Tokio," she said before standing and removing my neatly folded kimono from the drawers nears the door of the room.

"So where do you think you're going girl?"

Azumi and I turn to see the shoji open and a tall man with amber eyes leaning against the wall.

"Saitou, don't be rude. You may be a sword prodigy but you are still a boy," Azumi scolded him, placing the Kimono on the futon next to me.

_Saitou, I've heard that name before..._

Saitou stared coldly at Azumi.

"I'm not a boy."

_Amber eyes...Shinsengumi...Father..._

"No I suppose you're not, but you are only 18 and the youngest under my husbands command," sighed Azumi. "I worry for you Saitou, to be surrounded by death and blood so early on in your life."

_Blood....Fathers blood...._

I broke down, sobbing quietly as the memory of my fathers death hit me. Azumi and Saitou had stopped talking and I could feel Azumi drawing me into a gentle embrace, trying to soothe my pain.

_"What would father think of me crying?" _I asked myself, trying to calm myself_. "He raised me to be strong and here I am acting like an over emotional woman. No a child like Saitou thought."_

Getting my emotions under control I slowly extracted myself from Azumi's embrace finding refuge in my 'stone' face. (3)

Looking calm and collected despite my inner turmoil, I wiped my tears from my face using the sleeve of my yukata. I could still see traces of concern on Azumi's face. I took a glance at Saitou, he seemed to have a slight expression of surprise at my quick recovery.

"I'm sorry," I said to Azumi and Saitou giving a small bow from my kneeled position on the futon. Apologizing for my strange behavior.

"The death of my father has only just caught up with me."

I was proud of myself. My voice held no tremor and I knew my face did not hint at the cost it took me to keep this calm exterior.

Saitou had a bored expression on his face as he stepped fully into the room.

"I'm Haijime Saitou of Unit Three of the Shinsengumi"

"I'm Tokio Takagi, daughter of Kohachirou Takagi" I replied.

He just nodded at my introduction.

"Commander Kondou Isami Masanobu wishes to talk to you. I'm here to bring you to him to discuss your father."

A small frown has made its way onto his face. He seems annoyed at being a messenger.

I Nod numbly in agreement as Azumi shuts the shoji behind Saitou to wait outside as I dress.

Azumi helped me into the heavy embroidered kimono's (4) and fastened them firmly and efficiently. She helped part my hair and twist it into a simple knot at nape of my neck using a small amount of hair binding tape and some pins.

Murmuring my thanks to Azum,i I exit the room. Saitou gives me a quick glance, then turns down the corridor leaving me to following quietly.

------------------

I bow to Kondou-sama in an expression of gratitude for his generousity. I had been talking with him for more than an hour about the circumstances of my fathers death and my position in the situation.

Since all my relaitives are situated in Aizu and I was the sole benifactor of the entire estate and wealth of my father, Kondou expressed his wish for me to remain in the Shinsengumi Headquaters.

"It's safer for you here." he said.

He did not need to mention to that many of my father perspective suitors for me were Shinsengumi members. By me remaining here there was still a good chance of getting married to a high ranking Shinsengumi member and ensuring the financial support of the Takagi Family.

I agreed of course. To return to Aizu would mean loss of freedom instantly. Relaitives would quickly marry me off to strengthen alliances with the Niwa clan. The Takagi family have and Niwa family have always intermarried in at least once in every generation.

"So its agreed" he stated. "You will be placed with Atsuhira Shikibu, Third Captain of the Shinsengumi and his wife Azumi."

A small movement of his hand indicated that this meeting was over. And I returned to my room pondering the twists and turns my life had taken.

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Yay, Chapter 2 Is here!! lol. Capter 3's on the way too! Special thanks to **HeiBai-Ameyubi** who beta read this chapter. I didn't fully comprehend how atrocious my spelling and grammer was until Heibai corrected them.

Oh god I'm an evanescence nut ''. I listened continuously to 'Missing', 'Breathe No More' and 'Thoughtless' while writing this..

LOL, Saitou being called a boy falls over laughing

Well you can probably tell by Tokio's and Saitou's ages that I've set this story towards the beginning of the Bakumatsu. So yes Saitou is only a teenager but he's still looks almost the same as the man we know. Saitou is still only a unit member here, not the Captain of Unit 3 yet.

Also a note to those who might have thought Tokio was dumb for not noticing her father and the matchmaker murdered in the same room. Firstly she is behind a screen so she is shielded from the view of her father and secondly they are in an inn so its noisy.

Lanfear

(1) - **_Shoji _**- a translucent sliding screen made of a wooden frame covered with rice paper. (You may recognise this scene from the animematrix which gave me the idea for Tokio's dream. )

(2) - **_Sanbantai_** - Unit Three of the Shinsengumi

(3) - To hide your emotions. Think of Aoshi, he's stone faced all the time P. A common habit in Japan.

(4) - There is an inner kimono and a outer kimono that is worn. I'm not sure if this is right for this time period but for more formal occassions and outer kimono and up to 4 thin inner kimonos can be worn. However only the innermost and outer kimono are seen unless when kneeling. When kneeling a woman can arrange her kimono hems to display all the layers.

_**Reviews:**_

**HeiBai-Ameyubi** - Thanks for pointing out some of my mistakes I tend to have a habit of making really long sentences . And thank you for the offer of beta'ing my story!

**Miburo Kid **- Yes there are probably some spelling mistakes in there '' But I'm Australian and I know the American spelling of certain words aren't the same as mine, so some of them aren't mistakes from an Aussie POV. Despite that, thankyou for pointing it out, I'll try using the American spellings of words. o

**Mary-Ann - **Ah yes, I'm trying for a new approach to Tokio and Saitou's meeting. As for me knowing about the Shinsengumi, I really don't know much but the basics. I've read most of the TokioxSaitou stories here on which has helped give me a background.

**Imalefty** - Thanks D. Sequel won't be on its way for some time though. This is going to be a major project for me now.

_anonymous_ - I'm glad you like that silk kimono refence. As the story summary says, they will play an important role in this story.


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